Patrik Ervell may be the first designer who can say he's taken and passed the foreign-service exam. The California-raised Swede spent the late '90s hitting the books hard at Berkeley where he studied international relations. Turns out the dude didn't want to work at an obscure embassy somewhere though—he wanted to make clothes. So, he did a total 180 (radical changes at Berkeley?! Who knew?) and began his journey toward crafting simple, ultrasleek menswear with modern tailoring and throwback details like club collars. Cool guys like Ryan Gosling can't get enough of them. And neither can we, which is why we've made him one of our Best New Menswear Designers. Get to know Ervell here with the boots, beverage, and breed of canine that he can't do without.